My boys would not stop arguing this morning. I’d had enough. They are normally very sweet, considerate and get along well. But alas, it was one of those mornings. Out of patience, I decided to get creative with a solution. I stuck them together … literally … by wearing a huge Together Shirt.

They balked at first. Even cried, lol. Ah, I have a winner here. I grabbed one of my big shirts, squished the boys in, and voila, Together Shirt. I went back to work, pleased with myself.

A funny thing happened. They came up to me ten minutes later, asking if they could wear the shirt all day! It was fun, they said. They were reading, doing activities, and were pretending to be one big monster! No fussing on my part, no yelling, no additional punishments – just teaching a valuable lesson to learn to work together.

How is this raising up parents? I read an article today about the rise in Kindergarten suspensions – Kindergarteners!!! For throwing chairs, bullying other kids, drugs, even lewd conduct. Sad. Disheartening. Also angering. And preventable.

Parents – where are you? What are you doing? Raising children is not a pastime or hobby. You don’t do it when you feel like it. You don’t get to decide when to pay attention and when to ignore. It involves time, effort, diligence, energy and patience! It also involves love, caring, sacrifice, and as you can see by my example, a little creativity. What is your “together shirt”? How do you reach your children? No answer? Then that is your answer. Get busy doing it. Now. Don’t know what to do? Get help from books, resources. Put in the time and effort.

The Bible talks about the importance of parents training kids up according to the Word of God. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go. And when he is old he will not depart from it.” I love the admonition of putting the Word of God into our children, so that it takes root in their hearts, and remains to guide their lives. However, I believe that this verse is talking about more than just teaching our kids scripture. I believe it is speaking of training them up in every facet of life.

We need to be training them up to be business-minded entrepreneurs. We ought to be training up our children to have a strong work ethic, not an entitlement “gimme what’s mine” attitude. We should be training up compassionate, giving children; children that care about the world around them and are willing to work to make a positive difference. We must train children who are goal-oriented and focused; children who understand the importance of education not merely for the sake of good grades and memorization, but for the sake of knowledge because knowledge is power.

Married love is a funny thing. Built on a foundation of respect, honesty, commitment, and genuine friendship, it has to be nurtured, protected, developed, and honored. It’s almost like a child in a way – you give birth to it when you walk down the aisle. Then in the first few years of teaching it to “walk” or “work,” there are bumps and bruises as you get a feel for it. Finally, the cruising begins and you’re on your way…to more lessons, bumps and bruises, failures, and triumphs. Yet through it all, you have each other.

And while many in today’s society view marriage as antiquated, unnecessary, or even unrealistic (despite scores of happily married couples who beg to differ), those of us who are married know how joyful, fulfilling, and secure it can be. That’s why it’s so important to work to keep your marriage happy and healthy. I want to do something a little different today. Instead of telling you ways to keep your marriage spark alive, I want to help you understand the reason it is so crucial – and what can happen if you choose to let the flame extinguish.

– See more at: http://www.gospeltoday.com/blog/2015/03/02/marriage-its-beautiful-its-natural-its-incredible/#sthash.BrfcbnaL.dpuf

I was getting ready to get my little man(4) ready for the day. He did not want to because he had on his superhero underwear and he knew it meant putting a clean one on. I started thinking you are not a super hero because of what you wear…which lead me to thinking about us n our relationship with god. we are not defined by what we do, have or wear. We are ‘super’ because we serve and belong to a ‘super-natural’ God. As such, it’s time we go out and be ‘super’. Rescue some one today, encourage someone today, amaze someone today, avert a crisis today, after all you are a ‘super-hero’ serving a ‘super-natural’ God! ‪#‎Da‬-Real-Super-Heroes

My husband and I carefully prepared goals to help our sons achieve in 2015. We prayed about interests, researched classes, signed up for sports, and started saving for activities. We put a lot of time and effort into planning for their year. Charts have been created, schedules synched, and organizational structure implemented. The kids are ready. There’s only one small problem. We’re not. While planning for the little guys, we forgot to plan for the two of us.

Married parents, I think we often forget this. We’re so busy giving our kids every opportunity, affording them every advantage, sacrificing for their desires, that we forget to nurture our marriage. We had to remind ourselves that our marriage is vital, and just like our precious boys, needs attention, care and nurturing. So we’re putting a few things in place to ensure that we make time for our marriage … and each other.

1) Uninterrupted talk time each week. Okay, I know once a week doesn’t sound like much. But with two careers, two side jobs, opposite schedules, and two small boys, once a week sounds like a dream right now.
2) Monthly date night. Now I’ve read many fantastic articles and listened to dynamic speakers talk about dating your spouse once a week. I think it’s a fantastic idea. But we’ve tried. And failed. So I’d prefer to take baby steps and make an effort, than be discouraged because a goal of once a week doesn’t work, and give up. We’ll make those monthly times count.
3) Be sensitive to the other’s feelings. I must admit, I think we do a pretty good job of this now. We recognize when the other is burned out, overwhelmed and just needs a break. And we’re pretty unselfish in granting each other that time and space to relax and refuel. Even with our hectic schedules, I expect this to continue.

Take time to keep your marriage strong and happy. If things are going right with the two of you …. It makes the rest a lot easier to follow.

As I reflect upon 2014 and look towards my goals for the upcoming year, inevitably I want to be a better mother. What mom doesn’t? Too little patience, too much yelling, not enough hugging, too much rushing, not enough money … and the list could go on and on. But moms, we’re often way too hard on ourselves. And who better to show that to us, than our kids. Check out the reactions of these moms to what their kids really think about them ….

Although my mommy heart is aching, I’m thrilled with this development for several reasons.

1) He not only told me. He WANTED me to know. And instead of getting all weird about it, I simply talked to him. I agreed that the object of his affection is pretty and sweet. I said she may be a little old for him to “court” right now.

2) We established open lines of communication. He saw that I understood his feelings, and wanted to talk more. I was also able to “sneak in” some more mature thoughts about relationships and how exciting it will be when he gets to start courting the woman he’ll marry. Subtle, but I put it in there. 😉

3) He sees I am approachable. And genuine. I didn’t say he is too young to be thinking about girls that way (he is don’t get me wrong lol). Seriously, I let him know I understand his feelings and by engaging him, let him know his feelings matter to me. My prayer is that I am setting the ground work for the future.

So continue to write your little hearts and scroll those precious notes. As long as mom can see them first.

Although tomorrow is the day we celebrate Thanksgiving, truly we have so much to be thankful for every day. Life, family, friends, and health are among the most valuable things that God has blessed us with. In honor of this day set aside to focus on being grateful for the grace and mercy of God in our lives, this article is perfect to share to get a jump on the holiday. May your day be filled with love and laughter. Happy Thanksgiving.